Arctic Monkeys take on Beatles for best guitar riff

THE Arctic Monkeys are to be pitted against classic acts such as Guns N' Roses, Daft Punk and The Beatles in a vote for the greatest guitar riff of all time.

The public is being invited to vote for their favourites from a longlist of 100 top guitar riffs compiled by a panel of BBC Radio 2 experts.

Artists as diverse as Buddy Holly, Pink Floyd, and Metallica have also made the top 100. But organisers have insisted acts can be represented just once - so Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix and Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks are edged out in favour of Purple Haze and You Really Got Me respectively.

Jimi HendrixContributed

And there is no place for stadium-filling rock act Muse, despite their song Plug-In Baby being said to have replaced Stairway To Heaven as one of the prime choices for musicians testing out new gear in guitar shops.

The most recent release on the list is last year's Do I Really Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys, with No One Knows by Queens Of The Stone Age and Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes leading the charge for the 21st century.

Tracks from the days when the early days of electric guitar music include C'mon Everbody by Eddie Cochran, Holly's Words Of Love, Rumble by Link Wray and Apache by British guitar pioneers The Shadows.

The varied list - which also includes Hocus Pocus by Dutch prog rock band Focus, Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, Blur's Song 2 and A Girl Like You by Edwyn Collins - was announced by Radio 2 presenter Simon Mayo.

NirvanaFile

Music lovers can vote for their favourites at bbc.co.uk/radio2. The top choices will be counted down and the winner announced on Bank Holiday Monday, August 25.

Jeff Smith, head of music at Radio 2, said: "We've all been brought up with the most amazing guitar riffs throughout the history of pop music, but our trusty panel have drawn up a strong and eclectic mix that we know our Radio 2 listeners are going to love."